Looking for a repeat of the 2012 Tsunami of Hurt

I was really replying to Talk Tesla and his concept of bullshit as something we all agree upon. One man's observation is so often another man's bullshit!

I respect your opinion on battery cars and hope you continue to enjoy driving one. It evidently suits your lifestyle, but I don't believe they suit many people. The reasons I think they are flawed include the charging time and lack of 24/7 availability. Also, not everyone can charge a car at home (only one in three in Europe, two in three in the US). Moreover, I believe in an attempt to get maximum energy density, the safety envelope has been pushed too far for comfort. I think these are some of the reasons are behind the low popularity of battery cars.

 

What you are saying is partly true, but I charge 99% at home (while I sleep, just like my iPhone) its rare event when I need to charge outside. I argue a hydrogen car or gasoline is for that matter is available 24/7 if you do not take the time to fuel it... I think EV's in general are pretty safe as the battery pack certainly adds rigidity to the overall structure, and most have enough safety factor not to have a huge problem with fire. Tesla seems to me to be the only BEV with a higher then normal fire risk, and most of those are after catastrophic accidents.

 

Well, it clearly suits you just fine, and I can see why you might find them acceptable.

I would point out that two-thirds of European CANNOT charge their cars at home. To do so would involve running a cable to the car across the public pavement (footpath) or from a window of an apartment block (if they face the street or car park). Very few are prepared to face the hassle or problems this might involve. I believe the same constraints face about a third of your population too. That leaves them with the unappealing prospect of having to find public 'hitching posts' that are working, or of 'fast' charging which involves hanging about waiting for the thing to charge. Attempting to cut this time are ruled out by the unacceptably high power levels this would involve, even if the batteries could accept this. A technology that cannot be conveniently used by a large sector of the population is never going to be as popular as ICEs.

Perhaps we should just accept hydrogen and battery cars can simply coexist, and not view it as some kind of war. The most important thing is to cut the pollution and carbon emissions that ICEs involve. Both are capable of that.

Your point about Tesla is well made. I think they have probably pushed batteries too far and are running into problems with fire after severe crashes. It has to be said that they get more publicity than their competitors and it may be the other manufacturers are running into this problem too, but it is just not as well reported.